Hammond-Suzuki XK-1

I bought mine yesterday on clearance for $1197 and played it until 3am! As a long time Hammond player, this thing was easy to figure out. I would say for anyone who knows what a Hammond even is, or what a Leslie cabinet sounds like (or does) will know how to work all control and drawbars. It is userfriendly and fool-proof. If you DONT know what you are doing - you cant mess it up. Heck that's alot of the appeal of the B3 - grab the drawbars and MAKE you sound!

I the xk1 on top of my 1958 M3, ran the mono output into the phono input of the M3, which passed the signal into my Leslie 21h. That way I could do a A/B comparison. The keys have a heavier weight than the old Hammond, but they are stronger in build. So I would have no reservations of cranking the overdrive and glissing all the way up to an Am run! The editing features are 100% intuitive! If you want to change a parameter, just hold down the button you want to change, and the menu for that parameter automatically pulls up for you! NO SEARCHING!

Realism? check. Dead nuts ON! You cant tell the difference between the two. I had to reduce the keyclick from how it was set at the factory - I brought it down to about 2, and now its perfect. If you are in a rock band this is the keyboard you should strive for. I used to haul the M3/21h around, then got a vintage CX3/UC1a preamp to run a model 45 Leslie...now - I'm only taking THIS! I'll leave the Leslies at home - or just take em out for "special gigs" ($$$). The velocity on "other sounds" works good but there is no sustain pedal option. If used, you'll have to hold the keys yourself.

Hammonds are known for their reliability as long as the customer treats them nice. That goes for anything. The Xk1 is built like a tank. I already took the cheek blocks off to get a look inside (I dont care about the warranty!) and it is OVER built! Way too many screws and supports, and METAL everywhere! It aint gonna break under any reasonable use period. If you break it - its YOUR fault.

What do I hate? ha ha Thats easy: The User Manual! It is terrible. Written by a chinese idiot with turrets and ADHD. It will frustrate you to no end. Throw it out the window and just start pushing buttons and see what they do! You'll figure it out for yourself, be happier with your purchase, and move on to more important things...like making MUSIC!!

Headline - if you want a true tonewheel sound in hardware, in a dedicated machine, and without breaking your back, look no further.

This is a single, 5-octave keyboard with one set of 9 drawbars and 120 presets, arranged as 10 sounds in each of 12 banks, and is fully MIDI-capable.

The keyboard can be split to simulate lower and upper manuals (even flinging in the pedal sound to double the lower-manual sound in the left hand). If that's not enough you can used an external MIDI keyboard and/or a pedalboard to trigger lower-manual and pedal sounds - each through their own dedicated MIDI port - to get the full console playing experience. You set up the lower manual and pedal sounds with the same drawbar set, and some (minimal) twiddling.

In addition to drawbars the keyboard comes with all the usual clonewheel goodies - vibrato, chorus, percussion and overdrive (a bit fizzy at the extremes, for my taste). And then there's the Leslie simulator, which is at least as good as a Korg G4 and, if anything, even more editable (you can choose from three different simulated cabinets, as well as alter rise time, mic position and so on). And if that's not to your taste there's an 8-pin DIN socket for connection to a 21-series Leslie.

But wait - there's more. If you want, you can edit parameters in incredible depth (you can even choose between ten virtual tonewheel sets...). And there are things that Hammonds never had - programmability (setting up presets is a breeze), a lovely keyboard that is velocity sensitive (great for percussion voicings) and pitch and mod wheels for controlling external MIDI devices.

The sounds - bank 1 is a general set of useful sounds (a jazz organ called 'Jimmy', a rock organ called 'Purple', a funky sound, a gospel organ, a church organ ... you get the idea). The other banks concentrate on a particular kind of sound. So, bank 2 is jazz, 3 gospel, 4 rock, 5 theatre, 6 tibia, 7 church and so on. All are wonderful, but if they are not to your taste, each one is immediately editable on the fly. Alter the overdrive, chorus, percussion and so on, and grab a fistful of drawbars to change the sound in real time. Saving presets isn't quite a doddle, but it's close.

There is an additional bank of ten 'extra' sounds. Set one up and you can toggle between organ and 'extra'. These extras won't win any prizes - there are three okayish electric pianos, two not-very-good clavinets, a vibes, and two silly synth noises. The most useful for me is a nice 70s EP, which works well with the chorus and OD. This is useful in those situations in which you're playing Hammond for most of the night but an EP might come in handy for the occasional number.

Straight out of the box, it looks cooler than a very cool thing; is indistinguishable from a tonewheel organ; and is only slightly larger than two wafer-thin mints stuck together edgewise. The dimensions are 116 x 33.4 x 11 cm and it weighs 13.5 kg. So this truly is the Hammond without the Hernia. And in some ways it's no clone. It's a real Hammond organ. After all, it says 'Hammond' on the back in huge letters. So it's a Hammond - by definition.

I'd rate this as '10' but for the manual, which could be better. However, if you have any experience of this kind of keyboard before, most things should be intuitive, and can be solved with a few experimental button-presses, and the manual is useful as an aide-memoire or for reference. But a great work of literature, it ain't.

For most on this, see the 'ease of use' section above - there is everything any Hammond aficionado would want.

The keyboard is fully polyphonic and has a 'waterfall' action. This means that the ends of the keys are gently squared off with no protruding bits, so you can do all the usual organ glassandi without cutting your fingers to ribbons. And unlike a Hammond, it's velocity sensitive (not sure if it's pressure-sensitive).

The keyboard can be used as a MIDI controller, and it has pitch and mod wheels. There's no sequencer (although, as it's MIDI, there are facilities for interacting with external sequencers); no offline storage (flash cards or discs) and no expansion options.

This keyboard exists for one reason and one reason only - to provide a Hammond fan with the functionality and sounds of a B3 in a very portable and relatively inexpensive package. The important thing is that it not only sounds like a Hammond (there are softsynth packages that do that) but that it FEELS like one, too.

I first encountered one at a jam session at which the house organist, a friend of mine and a keen Hammond player for more than 40 years, had got one to replace his usual T100 or L100 rig. In his opinion the XK1 was indistinguishable from a 'real' tonewheel organ, and, when I got the chance to play it myself, I felt no awkwardness - no difference at all. Totally convincing. The only difference was that I couldn't chuck it around to make the reverb spring crash. How terribly Jon Lord of me. But I had to get an XK1 of my own.

I've only had one for a few days, but it seems to be extremely well made. Hammond players don't appreciate cheap tat - there's nothing flimsy or plasticky about this keyboard. It simply exudes class.

This cost 1350 euros, which is a lot of money... but you do get what you pay for. I'd probably get another if this one went west.

I've been playing keyboards, mainly blues and rock, for more than 25 years, and have played a lot of different keyboards, including tonewheel Hammonds. For many years I owned an old-style (analogue) Korg CX3 which I upgraded to a dual-manual analogue, 1970s vintage BX3 with a Korg G4 on the floor for the Leslie simulation. I had this for more than a decade and was very pleased with it - but it was a big weight and a housemove forced me to sell it. Unable to contemplate life without a clonewheel, I bought the XK1 which fits the bill very well and sounds even more convincing, and is more tonally flexible than the BX3.

I use the XK1 in a two-keyboard setup with a Korg TR61 workstation which does some wonderful piano sounds.

As an organ, the XK1 is perfect. I do wonder about the 'extra' sounds, though. I feel that either Hammond should have done a better job with these or not done them at all - though I can see they will be useful to some people in certain situations.

I just got this board a few days ago and have logged about 20 hours on it so far. All I can say is WOW, I'm shocked, impressed and absolutely amazed w/ this board. So, on w/ the review.

Ease of use is obviously very subjective. I'm a tech savvy guy and can literally figure out anything. That said, honestly this board needs some serious work on the user interface - it's horrible. The Hammond Suziki designers need to take a look at the competition boards like the Nord and how easy they are to navigate and do some user interface testing with REAL users, not lab rats. Start by moving the selection pad to the left - when I'm playing & soloing w/ my right hand and need to change patches, reaching over the top and to the right is not productive.

The menus are convoluted - a larger display would be about a $1.10 increase in costs and would help immensely in the navigation of editing. All this stuff is really nit-picky and doesnt affect the SOUND of this board which is unmatched.

I think overall that the features of this board are great with the exception of the "other" sounds which are mostly unusable in my opinion. The onboard leslie sim thru a stereo amp setup is great. It's even better thru a spinning set of rotors!

The quality of the reverb actually stands out - its great. You can thankfully assign the reverb function to the "control" key so you can access it quickly and make changes as needed. They also added a digital delay which can be used for the organ - a REALLY nice addition!

Things Hammond could do that don't cost a lot and would dramatically increase the number of people buying these boards:

-move the patch selector pad to the left. we play w/ our right hands and crossing over the left to change a patch mid-song simply sucks!
- user installable waveforms and sounds
- user editable params on all sounds, not just the organ sounds
- license some decent 3rd party sounds that are actually usable
- integrate them fully into the interface instead of being an afterthought

all this could be done w/ out adding buttons or manufacturing costs.

Again, WOW. I should start by saying my previous setup went thru a myriad of changes over the last year as I searched for that "elusive" B3 sound. I used to have a Roland VK8M controlled by a Fantom XA and sent it thru a MotionSound Pro3X+KC500 (AWEFUL), then a Fender tube amp+KC500 (passable), and finally a MotionSound Pro145+KC500 which was ok but the screetchyness of the horn on both the Pro3x and the 145 was just something that I couldn't tame. Even went so far as to rebuild the horns on both units. Then I bought a SpeakEasy preamp and put it before the 145 but it didn't do much except add noise and great overdrive.

I also must confess that I've never even touched a real B3/C3/M100/A100 but I know EXACTLY what they sound like, and I know it when I hear the real deal, and THIS IS IT. My first gig w/ this board and the MS 145+KC500 was last night. The hair on my neck was standing up all night and I had goose bumps often. My wife was blown away and she is a CRITIC (especially when she signed for the FedEx pkg on Wed and the inquisition started). After she heard it last night, I got a hall pass but still have to sell the old gear. The one word she used this morning as I write this review is "Organic", no pun intended. This board just sounds "right". It's got The Sound. Not only that, I actually played in a completely different way and did things that I didn't normally do w/ my other setup. Pressing down on a bunch of the keys and working your way up the board (not a gliss) and hearing the rumbling and groaning was just pure SEX. Performing trills actually sounded GOOD instead of crappy. Three people came up to me an gave me the full inquisition on what my setup was. That sure feels good, especially when it's usually the guitar player that gets that glory....

The bad part? The additional sounds simply suck so I'm completely discounting them in my rating. What a shame - whatever work they put into those extra sounds is just wasted. Thankfully I also use a Triton Extreme-88 loaded w/ the K-sounds Grand Piano samples which combined w/ the XK-1 give me what I think is about the ultimate setup.

Feels solid enough. Keys feel great, buttons seem sure and reliable, havnt seen the screen in sunlight yet so can say about that. The simulated wood seems like it will scratch easily so I ordered an ATA flight case for it.

Never had to deal with them. Their registration page on their website doesnt work but the email function does!

The manual is terrible - a translation from a translation from.... so typical for high tech stuff. How hard is it to post a PDF on the net ahead of time and have people who care give it a once over and point out the sections that make no sense!

Again WOW. I have another gig tonight and can't wait! I would absolutely replace this board if it was lost or stolen. This board just makes you play differently and is totally inspiring. I finally can relax and stop searching for The Sound. Now I've got it! Why on earth didnt I just bite the bullet before and Go Hammond instead of trying to squeeze water out of a rock? :)

The "adjust" manual mode I found very easy to use. All the controls seem well-placed, and feel of the highest quality.

Selecting presets is reasonably easy. Editing is complicated, but possible. The manual, though not sounding written by native English speaker, is comprehensive and easy to follow.

Full polyphony, I believe. Super, proper organ action.

Unlike many other reviewers, this is my first electronic organ (I used to play a pipe organ, ages ago), so I judge the effects without a standard to compare against. And the Leslie effect is SO cool, especially when combined with the overdrive. The speed-up and slow down work nicely.

Velocity sensitive, for controlling the extra sounds and external modules. Works OK. No aftertouch.

I think they ought to include a footswitch. One can't always spare a hand to hit the Leslie slow/fast button! I was down Maplin's for the bits to make one (a switch, not a hand), on the day I got it.

In the shop, I thought the sounds were good. After a bit more time to play, at home, I revise that opinion to "superb".

One can get all those classic rock organ sounds. And, when the mood takes one, there are decent sounds for classical, too.

As mentioned already, the Leslie is fab. The overdrive is good, up to about 80%.

The extra sounds (piano etc.) are not really what the XK-1 is about. So, while they are not great, I won't mark it down for that. I think the pianos are rubbish - I have a very good Yamaha piano, against which they're nowhere close. The Clavinet sounds are OK. The Sawtooth synth sound is actually rather good.

I've only had it two weeks, so I can't judge reliability. It feels top-notch quality, though.

I will be gigging it without backup, so I certainly do hope it's reliable!

No need to talk to customer support has occurred yet.

At 939 pounds, it's a substantial purchase, but the money buys super sounds, nice looks, good action and good build quality.

Overall, if you want excellent organ sounds in an easily-transported unit, this has to be high on your list. It has one of the coolest brand names on the back, but they don't seem to over-charge you for the privilege.

This keyboard is easy to operate and the procedures are intuitive.
The description of each parameter is really easy to understand and I found myself used to the keyboard standards quickly.
The manual has some weird grammar structure sometimes but it helps a lot the user. It has a formal approach and it explains the physical aspect of each one of the parameters. While explaining how to change the percussion or the keyclick it tells you what are those effects and how they happen inside the original tonewheel organ.
Its pretty easy to set this parameters (both global parameters like the leslie and bank parameters like reverb and tonewheel leackage).
The Leslie simulation is really good and configurable. Five built-in cabilets like the models 122, 147, etc can be selected. And the user can create his own cabinets with the parameters he likes (microphone angle, distance, different speeds for slow and fast rotors, and more).
The only reason I dont give a 10 here is because some of the default parameters (factory settings) could be better. But this is not a big problem since every detail can be changed with the parameters and saved over the old preset. And, also the fact that when you start playing it takes a while to get used to the upper/lower button. Again, after a while you get used to the separation of lower/upper with only one set of drawbars but it still takes a while.
Overall, a great keyboard... and really easy to operate. Two hours playing with it and you already understand how the menu navigation and how the parameters work.

This keyboard has full-polyphony and the waterfall keys are great. Suzuki made this keyboard velocity sensitive because there are some functions like the 'percussion volume' that can be set to be velocity sensitive. And also, because the Xk-1 has some extra-sounds like electric pianos and synths... (which Im going to mention later...humpf).
Coming back to the main subject, the organ features... Some tools I can mention are the externam midi pedalboard (channel 3), the expression pedal and the foot switch (usually for the leslie fast/slow).
In my case, I really wanted a two-manual organ so I could perform Lh basslines with the lower manual... I could do it using an extra-keyboard and using a Midi cable. The link was great and I can play with two manuals with no problem.
Like I said before, only one set of drawbars for both lower and upper parts is a negative detail, but after a couple of days playing with the Xk-1 you get used to the idea of changing the manuals when you change the registration.
Again, I think the Xk-1 is well-built and the features are really important and simply do what they are supposed to.

The tonewheel sound is amazing! No doubt about that.
The harmonics, keyclick, percussion, drawbar interaction and the chorus/vibrato are really good.
There is really not much to say here... The VASEIII sampling technology is really one of the best out there.
The sound is fat, warm and bright. I could record the Xk-1 and it will sound like a B.
The extra-sounds are only valid if you are tired of carring an extra keyboard when you practice with your band. I would never record anything with them and I really dont use synth sounds (ever). The only one I could use are the electric piano and the clavis, but they are not that great.
But I really think the main point here is the tonewheel sound, therefore I think the Xk-1 deserves a 10 for the quality of the organ sounds.
The overdrive is also something I think I should mention. This is the only screaming difference between the old brother Xk-3 and the Xk-1. The overdrive here is digital (instead of using tube amp like the Xk-3). Therefore, the overdrive sounds good but if you really push the overdrive (lets say more than 60%) the sound becomes a mess (actually, like it should be).
I think this keyboard can do a hell of a job in any style of music, but I think Jazz and Blues can be the main styles here.
The Leslie simulator is also great. As mentioned before, the Leslie parameters are global and can be easily changed. The Leslie effect is applied after the sound generation and really gets the job done.

It looks and feels strong and well-built.
I didn't notice any problem...

Haven't had to contact the company.

The key element here is the sound generation. This organ has a great sound and the feeling of playing it adds up to the whole product.
Great job Suzuki... Definetively a top-line clonewheel.

The presets sound fine. Some of the dedicated ones (like "Whiter Shade of Pale") are not very accurate but the presets are editable in real time so it is no big deal.
Editing is easy enough once you learn the ropes.

The manual reads like a translation of a translation and is a little loose but after a reading or two, the meaning is there.

This keyboard is top-notch in every way, action, built-in effects, etc.
The keyboard split feature is really nice. The drawbar position indicators on the screen are helpful too.

The keys are velocity-sensitive and respond just as you would expect from a fine keyboard.
The Hammond organ sounds are as realistic as it is going to get. I have this thing sitting on top of my M-3 so I can compare them directly. Hammond did their homework here.

The piano sounds are basically a clunky old FenderRhodes/Wurlitzer sound but are useable.
The clavinet sounds are good. (The piano is at least equal to the Nord Electro 2 and the clavinet sounds are better than the Nord Electro 2)

The onboard percussion, chorus/vibrato and leslie are very useable and the best I have heard. I compared it to my Korg G4 by running through the G-4 and then bypassing and using the onboard leslie.
As bad as I hate to admit it, the Hammond leslie sounds better.
However, the overdrive on the G-4 sounds more "true" than the overdrive on the Hammond. All-in-All, I still prefer the Hammond leslie package.
Compared with the Nord, this keyboard is in another league entirely.
I compared it with the XK-3 and there is almost no difference, in fact any difference favors the XK-1, mainly in the leslie effets.

Haven't had it long enough to know. It looks and feels solid as a rock.

NO dealings with Hammond/Suzuki

I would have to have another one. This is the best piece of musical gadetry to come along in a long time. I have played in combos since the mid-sixties and have played and hauled B-3's all over the country.
This machine does the job very well and at 33 lb. I can move it with ease. Bravo!

If I had any complaint, it would be the piano sound. It is a little weak. Even after tweaking the volume and the key response, it still has a weaker output than the organ. This makes it awkward for quick changes from piano to organ sounds.

Also, I feel that the overdrive is inferior to the Korg G-4.

Compared to all the other clones out there, this one is the prize, hands down!

New as of Jan 2007. Presets on Hammond sounds as close as anyone ever got to a real B-3. Editing patches - doable with a few clicks, reasonably easy once you've read the manual (which suffers from typical Japanese to American English translation weirdness at times).
It's not really patch editing that is an issue with this because once any patch is selected, they can, like a real B-3, be instantly modified with drawbars and switches turning on or off the other standard effects like percussion, chorus and vibrato. Any long time Hammond player will find it very easy and intuitive to alter the sounds and get to their personal preferences on the fly.

Action feels right. Having had 5 B or C3s over 30plus years, have to say they did it right. Felt perfectly natural from the moment I tried it.

The emulation of the percussion, chorusing, and vibrato are spot dead on. Even the fold-over effects are as expected on a classic B. The leslie emulation is more than acceptable for most gigs and only the player would notice in most cases it's not a physical Leslie. However I do run this in gigs through a vintage Rotophaser horn unit, with a Leslie 122 bottom rotor built into a custom portable cabinet, both powered with a vintage 40's Rauland Borg tube amp. In this configuration the internal Leslie emulation is redundant and I've found it can conflict with the real rotational effects of the physical Leslies creating wobbles in the sound if the effect is not turned off. This may not be an issue if running the Leslies with the built in Leslie output where the effects unit drives the speed of the real rotors as on the midi controllable Leslie unit recommended for the instrument.

However in practice the internal leslie effects are incredibly believable, even to the speed of the acceleration or braking of the horns. Again they did it right.

The MIDI implementation is good and practical for what it is. I've not fully explored the full range of MIDI with it yet, but do run a Korg M1 as a second manual to drive the XK-1's digital tonewheel generators for a full B-3 playing experience. The implementation of the presets (and with a single button switch plus the drawbars) both manuals are fully adjustable on the fly just as on a real dual keyboard B or C.

Sonically, this is the real deal. For decades I've waited for someone to really get the sounds right and even tweaking various models of synths and alternate keyboards, I had become convinced that it would never be possible to get a satisfying emulation of the real B-3. The XK-1 proved me wrong, thankfully. In the studio, the XK-1 sits on top of a late 40s M-3 and in blind sound tests, running both through the same Leslie rig, the fidelity of sounds are so precisely accurate that switching between manuals on the M and XK-1, one cannot hear any difference at the same drawbar and effects settings on either keyboard. And the XK-1 actually has a more faithful and greater range of sounds than the M since the M lacks a true fold over when percussion kicks in.

The pianos and clavs are OK but nothing to write home about. But that's not what the instrument was made for. The best of the pianos is the 60s Rhodes emulation.

So far it's been flawless but it's very new. Time will tell.

Well I've not yet had to deal with the company for repairs or questions. But (and don't hate me for this) I actually won this incredible instrument at this January NAMM show in a drawing. The VP of the company and the whole staff at the NAMM booth were incredibly friendly and helpful but that was a very special circumstance. The VP actually came by at the end of the show to personally deliver the manual which I'd forgotten to pickup at the booth when I picked up the XK-1 itself. Judging from their helpfulness and friendliness there, and knowing a bit of human nature, that same quality and desire to please a customer should be pervasive in the company, as it filters down from the top. I know from past experience that the Hammond Suzuki company has for many years been trying to live up to the reputation and expectations of hard core B-3 players, and until the XK-3 and this model, (and the new B-3 that was shown at NAMM), they knew they hadn't quite gotten it right. I believe that the company is very pleased and proud of the new instruments, that without question have accomplished the very difficult task of recreating the sound and experience of the classic B-3 for serious and discriminating players. And that self confidence in knowing they got it right, translates in confidence & good customer relations because they now know they can deliver and recapture some of the loyalty of the most serious Hammond players that they've not been able to reach or satisfy for decades.

Were my new XK-1 be lost or stolen, without question I'd get another. My M-3 will largely stay in the studio from now on as the XK-1 is all I need for public performance without compromise when coupled with a second keyboard for the second manual.

I've been playing Hammonds since the early seventies, having had several B-3, a few C-3 and the M-3 which I've used in the last year since hauling a B is too grueling at this age. I run it through the custom made Leslie rig described earlier with a Korg M1 as a second manual (and for other sounds). I also have guitars & basses all of my own design these days (www.danlguitars.com).

What I love about it is it's sonically and in playability a real B-3 and I can carry it under one arm and carry it in my compact car with all the Leslie "porta-cabs". I hate nothing about it, save wishing a decent grand piano sound came with it.

I believe any hard-core, serious B-3 player would find this instrument absolutely wonderful and far more practical than hauling those 400 plus pound monsters around, and be absolutely satisfied they are not sacrificing one iota of the classic sound that made them so popular and loved. There is nothing missing that a B-3 player would want, and with the capability of hooking foot pedals and a second manual to it through dedicated MIDI inputs even the physical experience of playing can be emulated and felt. It takes but a few hours to become completely comfortable with the layout and capability of the switches. Sonically it's awesome, even down to the built in tube-equipped adjustable overdrive that adds a faithful degree of sonic leak & distortion so typical of the early Bs & Cs with their underpowered Leslies that needed to be cranked to maximum to compete with guitarists running through ever more powerful amps.

This Keyboard is a winner for Hammond Suzuki and all lovers and players of the classic B-3. Hands down.

Out of the box, the keyboard is easy to understand for anyone who has a passing knowledge of the way a Hammond organ and midi instument operates. The manual is straightforward as manuals go, and makes finer adjustments fairly simple. I haven't needed to get too far into the unit's programmability, but you can adjust everything from the drawbar type to the type of horn in the leslie

The action and feel of the waterfall keys are very good. Compared to other unweighted keyboards, the action is much closer to the original Hammonds. glisses and trills (1/3s etc)feel right when you play the board.

This is a pretty amazing clone of the B3. True, it is only one manual, and it doesn't have the feel of sitting at a console running through a Leslie. But you are buying this instrument because you want something portable that gets you very close to the original. the XK-1 hits the mark.

A littel psychobabble: A keyboard is more than each individual part (action, tone generation, effects, etc.) It has to feel and sound like an expressive instrument. Someone casually listening to a band in a bar might not be able to tell the difference between one clone and another, but a good keyboard draws out your creative side. This is one of those keyboards. All of the elements are there, and they come together in a way that is as musical as a good B3.

I have tried the Roland series (VK-X) and the Korg clones and I can say that this is as close as you are you will get to the real deal. The other companies make serviceable units, and I like the sound of the Korg, but, for more money, it just doesn't deliver like the Hammond.

If you want to have the sound of tube distortion and swirling air from a Leslie in your ears, I suggest you look at one of the Motion Sound amps (Pro-3T or similar) or Leslie 2101. For many, they will be happy with the on-board effects.

You can nitpick about this keyboard, when comparing it to this B3 or that one (find me two 40 year-old electromechanical keyboards that sound and play alike and I will be amazed), but for me, the XK-1 is absolutely authentic.

The rating is not on the basis of "is this a B3?", but more " have they managed to faithfully reproduce the reason people keep coming back to the Hammond Console decade after decade"

No reason to doubt the dependability of the unit. Feels sturdy & well constructed.

Haven't had to contact the company. Probably a good sign

I have been playing in bands and on stage for about 30 years, off and on. my rig is a Roland RD700-SX and the XK-1 running through a KC500 amp and when needed, a Pro-3T. I play blues, rock, pop and a little jazz. If you want to add the sound and feel of a B3 without having to rent a moving van, this is absolutely the keyboard to buy.

Like most dedicated Hammond clones, this one is easy to use because the controls are laid out more or less like the real thing. Sounds are not as editable as the XK-3. Once you learn the menu system, it becomes fairly easy to get where you want in 2 or 3 button pushes.

I've played the XK-3. The key action of the XK-1 is very similar. Triggering is not quite as shallow. I like the XK-1 action better. On the XK-3 it was too easy to trigger notes accidentally.

Midi is decent, and is exactly the same as the XK-3.

It's the same sound engine as the XK-3. Superb Hammond tone, percussion sounds dead on, chorus/vibrato are very authentic.

The leslie effect is somewhat improved over the XK-3. If the leslie effect is crucial to you, then you should get a real leslie or one of the modern versions, because a digital effect will never come close to satisfying. I used to own a leslie 122, but now I have too many space and time limitations to be dealing with a real leslie. I miss the leslie tone, but being without it hasn't really affected how I make music.

The "other sounds" on the XK-1 are 3 electric pianos, 2 clavs, 2 synths, and vibes. These all earn a C- at best. Digital and lifeless sounding. But I might use them now and then.

The first unit I got had a battery problem. Hammond-Suzuki shipped me a new one right away. The response on that could not have been better.

To me, the main selling point was that this is about 12 pounds lighter than the XK-3. Were it not for the weight, I would own the XK-3 so I could have a full set of drawbars. But I'm not going to carry around 43 lbs that does nothing but organ. I've played about 20 gigs with the XK-1, and I absolutely love it. This is going to be a mainstay in my rig for a long time.